$5m e-ticket system for NZ buses

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Commuters in Wellington and Auckland could soon be paying for
bus and train travel using a single smartcard that they can top up
over the internet.

Stagecoach New Zealand has selected Australian electronic
ticketing company ERG as the preferred supplier of a contactless
smartcard ticketing system - a deal that ERG expects to be worth
about $5 million.

Stagecoach will fit out all its 1000 buses in Wellington and
Auckland with ERG's TP5000 smartcard readers, capable of deducting
fares from smartcards when waved three to six inches in front of
them.

The smartcard system is expected to debut during the second half
of the year and should be available on all buses by the middle of
2006.

Talks are now under way between ERG and rail operator Toll NZ.
If Toll NZ settles on the same smartcard payment technology,
passengers could be offered "integrated ticketing" options,
allowing them to pay for a journey involving both bus and train
travel with a single smartcard-based electronic payment.

Toll NZ spokeswoman Sue Foley says the company is aware of
Stagecoach's smartcard initiative but says it is "very early
days".

ERG's Perth-based general manager of corporate affairs, Mark
Giles, says ERG will supply 360 smartcard terminals for use in
Wellington and 680 terminals for Stagecoach in Auckland 
along with the smartcards themselves that cost about a dollar each
to produce.

Stagecoach inspectors will be issued with handheld computers so
they can check if passengers using smartcards have paid the correct
fare.

Passengers will be able to top up their smartcards at regular
ticket outlets or on the buses themselves.

Stagecoach New Zealand managing director Bill Rae says that
subject to contract negotiations, passengers will be able to top up
their smartcards over the internet using a credit card  a
feature that will cost Stagecoach a bit more money.

The "credit" would then be transferred to their smartcard the
next time they passed it in front of a payment terminal on one of
Stagecoach's buses.

Rae says the electronic ticketing system will enable passengers
to board faster.

All existing methods of ticket payment will remain available, he
says.

Some contactless smartcard payment systems are capable of
automatically deducting fares by scanning smartcards as passengers
step on and off buses, but Miles says not everyone is comfortable
with this approach.

"Most patrons want to have the feeling of presenting their card
to a reader."

Perth-based ERG is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and
employs 900 staff worldwide. It posted a profit of $A15.9 million
on sales of $A116.5 million for the six months to December. It has
also implemented electronic ticketing systems for the cities of
Sydney and Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong's case, ERG supplied eight million smartcards which
are compliant with the EMV banking standard, meaning they can be
used as a generic stored-value card to purchase low-value items
from stores such as 7-11, Starbucks and McDonald's  as well
as bus and train tickets.

The Hong Kong ticketing system cost more than $100 million and
handles 7.5 million transactions each day.